Dawes Calls for Urgent Overhaul After Repeated Shutdowns at Major Hospitals

Operating theatres at two of Jamaica's most critical public hospitals are offline once again, and the Opposition is demanding that the government stop applying temporary fixes to what it describes as a deep and worsening infrastructure crisis.

 

Dr. Alfred Dawes, Opposition Spokesman on Health and Wellness, is calling for urgent and lasting action after surgical services at Kingston Public Hospital and Bustamante Hospital for Children were suspended yet again due to recurring infrastructure failures. The shutdowns have forced the cancellation of surgeries and put lifesaving medical missions in jeopardy.

 

Dr. Dawes argues the pattern is one the Ministry of Health has repeated too many times. When he raised concerns about theatre failures at Bustamante Hospital for Children last year, the response was to redirect select cases to the University of the West Indies rather than fix the underlying problem. At Kingston Public Hospital, mould discovered growing in the operating theatres and intensive care unit was met with denial, then a promise to reopen within two weeks, followed by what Dr. Dawes described as a cosmetic fix that painted over the problem without confirming proper mold removal. The theatres are now closed and contaminated again.

 

Beyond the immediate closures, Dr. Dawes warned of a wider ripple effect on the health system, with surgical backlogs growing, staff working in unsafe conditions, lifesaving procedures being postponed, and public trust in the country's hospitals continuing to decline. He pointed to malfunctioning air conditioning units, mold, and years of neglect as the root causes driving the crisis.

 

The Opposition is calling on the Ministry of Health to commission an independent assessment of infrastructure at both hospitals, publish a clear remediation timeline, allocate proper funding for permanent corrective work, and provide regular updates to the public until surgical services are fully restored.

 

"The Jamaican people deserve operating theatres that are safe, functional, and staffed with people who are not working under threat," Dr. Dawes said. "They deserve a Ministry of Health that invests in permanence, not performance."